Wide dynamic range capacitive sensing

ABSTRACT

A touch sensor panel configured to detect objects touching the panel as well as objects that are at a varying proximity to the touch sensor panel. The touch sensor panel includes circuitry that can configure the panel in a mutual capacitance (near field) architecture or a self-capacitance (far field and super far field) architecture. The touch sensor panel can also include circuitry that works to minimize an effect that a parasitic capacitance can have on the ability of the touch sensor panel to reliably detect touch and proximity events.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/460,620,filed Apr. 30, 2012, and published on Oct. 31, 2013 as U.S. PublicationNo. 2013/0285971, the content of which is herein incorporated byreference in its entirety for all purposes.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This relates generally to the detection of touch and proximity events ontouch sensor panels, and more particularly, to the implementation of atouch sensor panel that can sense touch and proximity events over a widedynamic range of distances.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Many types of input devices are available for performing operations in acomputing system, such as buttons or keys, mice, trackballs, joysticks,touch sensor panels, touch screens, and the like. Touch screens, inparticular, are becoming increasingly popular because of their ease andversatility of operation as well as their declining price. Touch screenscan include a touch sensor panel, which can be a clear panel with atouch-sensitive surface, and a display device such as a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD) that can be positioned partially or fully behind the panelso that the touch-sensitive surface can cover at least a portion of theviewable area of the display device. Touch screens generally allow auser to perform various functions by touching (e.g., physical contact ornear-field proximity) the touch sensor panel using a finger, stylus orother object at a location often dictated by a user interface (UI) beingdisplayed by the display device. In general, touch screens can recognizea touch event and the position of the touch event on the touch sensorpanel, and the computing system can then interpret the touch event inaccordance with the display appearing at the time of the touch event,and thereafter can perform one or more actions based on the touch event.

Mutual capacitance touch sensor panels can be formed from a matrix ofdrive and sense lines of a substantially transparent conductive materialsuch as Indium Tin Oxide (ITO). The lines are often arrangedorthogonally on a substantially transparent substrate. Mutualcapacitance touch sensor panels not only have the ability to detecttouch events on the touch sensor panels, but also have the ability todetect proximity events, in which an object is not touching the panelbut is in close proximity to the panel. However, mutual capacitancetouch pads are constrained in their ability to sense proximity events,and thus only provide proximity detection over a limited range ofdistances from the touch sensor panel.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

This relates to a touch sensor panel configured to detect objects thateither are touching the panel or at a varying degree of proximity to thetouch sensor panel. The panel can be configured to include circuitrythat is capable of detecting objects that are touching the panel (nearfield events) using a mutual capacitance touch detection architecture,or can be configured to detect objects at a varying degree of proximity(far field and super far field) utilizing a projection scanningself-capacitance architecture. Furthermore, in order to facilitate thedetection of proximity events at varying distances away from the touchpanel, a parasitic capacitance of the touch sensor panel can be reducedto make proximity event detection more reliable as the distance that theobject is from the touch sensor panel increases.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1a illustrates an exemplary mutual capacitance touch sensor circuitaccording to one disclosed embodiment.

FIG. 1b illustrates an exemplary touch node and the effect that a fingertouching the node has on coupled charge according to one disclosedembodiment.

FIG. 1c illustrates another exemplary touch node and the effect that theabsence of a finger has on coupled charge according to one disclosedembodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary self-capacitance touch sensor circuitaccording to one disclosed embodiment.

FIG. 3a illustrates an exemplary electrical circuit corresponding to aself-capacitance touch sensor electrode according to one disclosedembodiment.

FIG. 3b illustrates an exemplary electrical circuit corresponding to aself-capacitance touch sensor electrode when a parasitic capacitance ispresent on the touch electrode according to one disclosed embodiment.

FIG. 4a illustrates an exemplary relationship between Cself andparasitic capacitance when a hand or object is near the self-capacitancetouch sensor panel according to one disclosed embodiment.

FIG. 4b illustrates an exemplary relationship between Cself andparasitic capacitance when a hand or object is far from theself-capacitance touch sensor panel.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary touch sensor system employing drivenshielding according to one disclosed embodiment.

FIG. 6a illustrates an exemplary driven shielding circuit diagram of atouch electrode according to one disclosed embodiment.

FIG. 6b illustrates an exemplary driven shielding circuit diagram of adisplay according to one disclosed embodiment.

FIG. 6c illustrates an exemplary driven shielding circuit diagram of aborder trace region according to one disclosed embodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary wide dynamic range self-capacitive touchsense circuit with voltage based offset according to one disclosedembodiment.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary procedure tocalibrate multiplying digital to analog converters according to onedisclosed embodiment.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary wide dynamic range self-capacitive touchsense circuit with current based offset according to one disclosedembodiment.

FIG. 10a illustrates an exemplary mutual capacitance touch sensor panelwith a touch event occurring, and an exemplary corresponding touchresolution according to one disclosed embodiment.

FIG. 10b illustrates an exemplary self-capacitance touch sensor panelwith a proximity event occurring, and an exemplary corresponding touchresolution according to one disclosed embodiment.

FIG. 11a illustrates an exemplary switching diagram for switchingbetween a mutual capacitance touch sensor drive line configuration and aself-capacitance touch sensor electrode configuration according to onedisclosed embodiment.

FIG. 11b illustrates an exemplary switching diagram for switchingbetween a mutual capacitance touch sensor sense line configuration and aself-capacitance touch sensor electrode configuration according to onedisclosed embodiment.

FIG. 12 illustrates a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary procedureto determine if a super far field proximity event is occurring on thetouch sensor panel, according to one disclosed embodiment.

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary self-capacitance touch sensor panel insuper far field detection mode with a super far field proximity eventoccurring, and an exemplary corresponding touch resolution according toone disclosed embodiment.

FIG. 14 illustrates a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary procedurefor switching touch sensing modes during operation of the touch sensorpanel according to one disclosed embodiment.

FIG. 15 illustrates a flow diagram for detecting the presence of a touchor proximity signal according to one disclosed exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 16 illustrates yet another flow diagram illustrating an exemplaryprocedure for switching touch modes during operation of the touch sensorpanel according to one disclosed embodiment.

FIG. 17 illustrates an exemplary computing system including a touchsensor panel utilizing touch sensor common mode noise recovery accordingto one disclosed embodiment.

FIG. 18a illustrates an exemplary mobile telephone having a touch sensorpanel that includes a touch common mode noise recovery circuit andmethod according to one disclosed embodiment.

FIG. 18b illustrates an exemplary digital media player having a touchsensor panel that includes a touch common mode noise recovery circuitand method according to one disclosed embodiment.

FIG. 18c illustrates an exemplary personal computer having a touchsensor panel that includes a touch common mode noise recovery circuitand method according to one disclosed embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description of embodiments, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which it is shownby way of illustration specific embodiments that can be practiced. It isto be understood that other embodiments can be used and structuralchanges can be made without departing from the scope of the disclosedembodiments.

This relates to a touch sensor panel which can have the ability to notonly sense touch events but to also sense proximity events over a widedynamic range of distances. The touch sensor panel hardware can beswitched into various configurations depending on the range of distancethat is desired to be sensed. Furthermore, the parasitic capacitanceexperienced by the touch sensor panel can be mitigated so that it doesnot act to distort the touch sensor panel's ability to detect touch andproximity events. Driven shielding can be employed to reduce parasiticcapacitance, and the parasitic capacitance's effect on phase can becalibrated out to reduce its net effect on touch and proximitydetection.

Although embodiments disclosed herein may be described and illustratedherein in terms of mutual capacitance and self-capacitance touch sensorpanels, it should be understood that the embodiments are not so limited,but are additionally applicable to any capacitive touch sensor panel inwhich a wide dynamic range of detection is required. Additionally,although embodiments disclosed herein may be described and illustratedin terms of driven shielding being applied to one or more of a bordertrace area, a display area and electrodes, it should be understood thatthe embodiments are not so limited, but may be additionally applicableto any part of a touch input device which contributes parasiticcapacitance to sense detection. Furthermore, although embodimentsdisclosed herein relate to a method of mitigating parasitic capacitanceon a touch sensor panel, it should be understood that the embodimentsare not so limited, but may be additionally applicable to any capacitivetouch sensor device such as a capacitive trackpad.

FIG. 1a illustrates an exemplary touch sensor panel 100 according tosome embodiments of the disclosure. Touch sensor panel 100 can includean array of touch nodes 106 that can be formed by a two-layer electrodestructure separated by a dielectric material, although in otherembodiments the electrodes can be formed on the same layer. One layer ofelectrodes can include a plurality of drive lines 102 positionedperpendicular to another layer of electrodes comprising a plurality ofsense lines 104, with each of the nodes 106 having an associated mutualcapacitance 114 (also referred to as coupling capacitance), although inother embodiments, the drive and sense lines can be positioned innon-orthogonal arrangements. The drive lines 102 and sense lines 104 cancross over each other in different planes separated from one another bya dielectric. Each point in which a drive line 102 intersects a senseline 104 can create a touch node 106. Thus, for example, a panel whichcontains for instance 20 drive lines 102 and 15 sense lines 104 willhave 300 touch nodes available to detect touch or proximity events.

Drive lines 102 (also referred to as rows, row traces, or rowelectrodes) can be activated by a stimulation signal provided byrespective drive circuits 108. Each of the drive circuits 108 caninclude an alternating current (AC) or unipolar pulsatile voltage sourcereferred to as a stimulation signal source. To sense touch event(s) onthe touch sensor panel 100, one or more of the drive lines 102 can bestimulated by the drive circuits 108, and the sense circuitry 110 candetect the resulting change in the charge coupled onto the sense lines104 in the form of a change in the amplitude of the coupled stimulationsignal. The change in voltage amplitude values can be indicative of afinger or conductive object touching or in proximity to the panel. Thedetected voltage values can be representative of node touch outputvalues, with changes to those output values indicating the nodelocations 106 where the touch or proximity events occurred and theamount of touch that occurred at those location(s).

FIG. 1b illustrates an exemplary touch node and the effect that a fingertouching the node can have on coupled charge according to one disclosedembodiment. When drive line 102 is stimulated by a signal, electricfield lines 118 can form between drive line 102 and sense line 104 dueto the mutual capacitance between the drive and sense line, and chargecan be coupled from the drive line to the sense line. When a finger orconductive object 116 comes into contact or near proximity to the touchnode 106 created by the intersection of drive line 102 and sense line104, the object can block some of the electric field lines and theamount of charge coupled between the drive and sense line can decrease,with some of the charge being coupled into the finger or object. Thisdecrease in charge coupled onto sense line 104 from drive line 102 canbe detected by sense circuitry 110.

FIG. 1c illustrates an exemplary touch node and the effect that theabsence of a finger can have on coupled charge according to onedisclosed embodiment. When finger 116 is removed from touch node 106,the charge emanating from drive line 102 is no longer partially coupledinto finger 116 and thus the amount of charge coupled into sense line102 can increase. Finger 116 generally can only couple charge from thedrive line 102 if it is touching or in near proximity to touch node 106and blocking some electric field lines 118. Once the finger 116 is movedaway from touch node 106 and is a certain distance away from the node,then the charge is no longer coupled onto finger 116 and the touchsensor panel can no longer detect the presence of the finger and willnot register a touch or proximity event. Thus, capacitive touch sensorpanels which employ mutual capacitance to detect touch or proximityevents often have a very limited range of distance over which the systemcan detect proximity events.

Touch sensor panels that employ self-capacitance to detect touch orproximity events can be used to detect the presence of a finger orobject that is further away from the touch sensor panel than a panelwhich uses mutual capacitance. FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplaryself-capacitance touch sensor circuit 200 according to one disclosedembodiment. Self-capacitive touch sensor panel circuit 200 containselectrodes 202 which are connected to sense circuitry 204 and have aself-capacitance to ground. When an object touches or is in closeproximity with the electrode, an additional capacitance can be formedbetween the electrode and ground through the object, which can increasethe self-capacitance of the electrode. This change in theself-capacitance of an electrode 202 can be detected by sensing circuit204. Changes in self-capacitance can be created when objects or fingersare further away from the touch panel, as opposed to mutual capacitancetouch panels which require the finger or object to be either touching orin near proximity to panel in order to sense a touch or proximity event.Unlike mutual capacitance touch sensor 100, each electrode of thecircuit acts as a touch node, rather than the intersections oforthogonal electrodes. Thus in 20×15 electrode array, there are only 35touch nodes. One skilled in the art will recognize that such aself-capacitance architecture can possess a touch resolution that isless than the mutual capacitance touch resolution (e.g., 35 nodes vs.300 nodes). Since the self-capacitive architecture described above has areduced spatial resolution when compared to a mutual capacitive touchsensor, a self-capacitive touch sensor panel may not be able to detecttouch or proximity event location with as much accuracy or unambiguityas a mutual capacitive touch sensor panel.

FIG. 3a illustrates an exemplary electrical circuit corresponding to aself-capacitance touch sensor electrode and sensing circuit according toone disclosed embodiment. Electrode 202 can have a self-capacitance 304to ground associated with it. Touch electrode 202 can be coupled tosensing circuit 314. Sensing circuit can include an operationalamplifier 308, feedback resistor 312, feedback capacitor 310 and aninput voltage source 306, although other configurations can be employed.For example, feedback resistor 312 can be replaced by a switchedcapacitor resistor in order to minimize any parasitic capacitance effectcaused by a variable feedback resistor. The touch electrode can becoupled to the inverting input of operation amplifier 308. An AC voltagesource 306 (Vac) can be coupled to the non-inverting input of operationamplifier 308. The touch sensor circuit 300 can be configured to sensechanges in self-capacitance 304 induced by a finger or object eithertouching or in proximity to the touch sensor panel. The output 320 ofthe touch sense circuit 300 is used to determine the presence of aproximity event. The output 320 can either be used by a processor todetermine the presence of a proximity or touch event, or output 320 canbe inputted into a discrete logic network to determine the presence of atouch or proximity event.

FIG. 3b illustrates an exemplary electrical circuit corresponding to aself-capacitance touch sensor electrode and sensing circuit when aparasitic capacitance is present on the touch electrode according to onedisclosed embodiment. Parasitic capacitance 314 can representcapacitances found on touch electrode 202 that can be derived fromvarious sources on a device which employs a touch sensor panel. As anexample, parasitic capacitance can be created by the interaction betweenthe touch electrodes 202 and other circuitry of the device such as adisplay or other conductive plates that can exist within a device whichemploys a touch sensor panel. One of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize that in a self-capacitance touch sensing system, parasiticcapacitance 314 (Cpar) will be in parallel to the self-capacitance 304as shown in FIG. 3b . When two capacitors are in parallel they addtogether, thus the change in capacitance being measured by sense circuit314 can be Cself+Cpar, where Cself represents the signal of interestwhich is the self-capacitance of electrode 202. Since sense circuit 314detects a combination of self-capacitance 304 and parasitic capacitance314, the relationship between self-capacitance 304 and parasiticcapacitance 314 can be important.

For instance, one skilled in the art will recognize that the equationfor output 320 (Vout) of sense circuit 300 can be represented as:V _(OUT) =V _(AC)*[(1+Cc×F/GJ)+(Ce×H/G)]

Where

-   -   F=C_(sb)*(ω*R_(sb))²    -   G=1+(ω*R_(jb)*C_(sb))²    -   H=ω*R_(sb)    -   C_(e)=Cself+C_(par)

As expressed in the equation above, the phase of output 320 is dependentupon the value of Cself and Cpar. Thus, Cpar produces a phase offset andcan hinder sense circuitry 204's ability to detect proximity events. Inthe equations above, ω can be defined as the frequency of thestimulation signal applied to the electrodes via the non-inverting inputof operational amplifier 308 represented in the equations above as Vac.If Vac is a sinusoidal signal then the equation above can be simplifiedsuch that:If V _(AC)=Sin(ωt) thenV _(AC)=Sin(ωt+β+φ)φ=phase shift caused by C_(par)β=phase shift caused by Cself

Also, the magnitude of parasitic capacitance 314 in relation to themagnitude of self-capacitance 304 can have an effect on how accuratelysense circuit 314 is able to detect changes in self-capacitance createdby a finger or object in proximity to touch electrode 202. FIG. 4aillustrates an exemplary relationship between Cself and parasiticcapacitance when a hand or object is near the self-capacitance touchsensor panel. As illustrated, when hand 402 is a short distance 410 fromtouch panel 404, the magnitude of Cself (self-capacitance) 406 is largerthan the magnitude of Cpar (parasitic capacitance) 408. Note that themagnitudes are illustrative and shown for purposes of relativecomparison only, and are not intended to represent actual magnitudes. IfCself 406 is considered the signal of interest and Cpar 408 isconsidered a noise source, then the touch sensor panel 404 can be saidto have a good signal to noise ratio (SNR), thus making touch andproximity detection more reliable.

FIG. 4b illustrates an exemplary relationship between Cself andparasitic capacitance when a hand or object is far from theself-capacitance touch sensor panel. When hand 402 increases itsdistance 410 from touch panel 404, the magnitude of Cself 406 can becomemuch smaller since Cself is inversely proportional to the distance thatan object is located from the touch sensor panel. While fluctuations indistance 410 can cause fluctuations in the magnitude of Cself 406, Cpar408 can remain roughly constant. This means that as the hand 402 movesfarther away from touch sensor panel 404, the SNR of the sensor systemcan decrease. Eventually, when hand 402 is a certain distance 410 fromtouch sensor panel 404, Cpar 408 can be said to “drown out” Cself 406.In other words, the magnitude of Cpar 408 can be so great as compared tothe magnitude of Cself 406 that touch sense circuitry 204 may no longerbe able to detect changes in Cself. Furthermore, as the magnitude ofCself becomes smaller, more gain from touch sensing circuit 314 may berequired, in order to allow detection of changes in Cself. However, ifthe magnitude of Cpar 408 is too great, then operation amplifier 308 canbecome saturated and thus may not be able to provide adequate signalgain to sense changes in Cself.

These relationships between Cself and Cpar can mean that aself-capacitance touch sensor panel's performance over distance can beconstrained by at least two factors: the distance 410 that a hand orobject 402 is away from touch panel 404, and the amount of parasiticcapacitance 408 present on the touch sensor panel 404. In order toachieve an acceptable SNR across a wide dynamic range of distance,parasitic capacitance 408 can be reduced or eliminated so that itsmagnitude relative to Cself is small, and its energy does not saturateamplifier 308 and reduce the amplifier's ability to provide adequategain to measure Cself.

Thus, in order to increase the dynamic range within which proximityevents can be detected, the effect that parasitic capacitance has ontouch and proximity event detection can be mitigated in order to allowfor errors in proximity event detection to be minimized. According toone embodiment, mitigating parasitic capacitance can involve attenuatingthe magnitude of Cpar so that its magnitude in relation to the magnitudeCself is small. Driven shielding can be used to attenuate parasiticcapacitance. FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary touch sensor systememploying driven shielding according to one disclosed embodiment. Drivenshielding touch sensor system 500 can include touch controller 516 whichcan drive the touch sensor panel 502 with stimulation signals viaelectrode traces 506, and process touch signals outputted by touch inputdevice 502. Touch sensor panel 502 may contain a display and a bordertrace area which can be encapsulated or otherwise protected by aconductive display shield 512 for the display and conductive bordertrace shield 504 for the border trace area (e.g., one or more shieldlayers in the display and/or border trace stackus). Border trace shield504 and display shield 512 can conduct a signal Vshield 510 generated bytouch controller 516. Electrode traces 506 can also have a shield 508encapsulating them (e.g., one or more shield layers in a flex circuitstackup). Vshield 510 can drive electrode trace shield 508 and displayshield 512.

FIG. 6a illustrates an exemplary shielding circuit diagram of a touchelectrode layer in a flex circuit according to one disclosed embodiment.In a touch or near-field proximity sensing configuration, touchcontroller 608 can output a stimulation signal onto row electrode traceson layer 602. Touch electrode layer 602 can be encapsulated (e.g.,covered on top and/or bottom) by one or more conductive shields 604.Conductive shields 604 can be connected to Vshield 610, which canprovide a DC reference voltage (in touch or near-field proximity sensingembodiments) or an AC signal (in far-field proximity sensingembodiments) to the conductive shield 604. In far-field proximitysensing embodiments, Vshield 610 can be configured to carry either thesame or a similar signal to the signal being carried on electrode 602.If the signals on the shield 604 and the electrode 602 are about thesame, then parasitic capacitive effects caused by the electrodes can beattenuated or even eliminated since the effective capacitance betweentwo conductive plates at the same voltage is zero. By encapsulating theelectrode 602 within conductive sheath 604, and then driving conductivesheath 604 with a Vshield 510 which carries an identical or nearlyidentical signal as the signal being transmitted on the electrode, thechange in voltage between the conductive plate of the electrode and theconductive plate of the shield can be zero or nearly zero, meaningparasitic capacitances contributed by the electrode's interaction withother conductive plates in the system can be attenuated.

In some embodiments such as far-field proximity sensing which utilizeself-capacitive touch detection as described above, and as illustratedin the circuit diagram of FIG. 3b , touch electrode 202 can receivesignal Vac 306 during touch detection. Thus, if electrode 202 isshielded with a conductive shield 604, and Vshield 602 is set to equalVac 306, then the driven shield can attenuate the portion of the totalparasitic capacitance caused by the electrode's 202 interaction withother conductive plates.

FIG. 6b illustrates an exemplary driven shielding circuit diagram of adisplay according to one disclosed embodiment. Touch controller 608 canoutput a signal Vshield 510 that drives display shield 614, which canencapsulate (e.g., cover on top and/or bottom) display 612. Similar tothe description given for the touch electrode 902 of FIG. 9a , infar-field proximity sensing the display shield 614 can be driven with asignal that is similar or identical to the signal being carried on theelectrodes, in order to attenuate parasitic capacitance.

FIG. 6c illustrates an exemplary driven shielding circuit diagram of aborder trace region according to one disclosed embodiment. Touchcontroller 608 can output a signal Vshield 510 that drives border traceshield 624, which can encapsulate (e.g., cover on top and/or bottom)border trace region 622. Similar to the description given for the touchelectrode 602 of FIG. 6a , and display 612 of FIG. 6b , in far-fieldproximity sensing the border trace shield 624 can be driven with asignal that is similar or identical to the signal being carried on theelectrodes in order to attenuate parasitic capacitance.

While the driven shielding method above can attenuate substantially allof the parasitic capacitance of the touch sensor panel, some residualparasitic capacitance may remain, thus it may be necessary to employ asecond method to mitigate parasitic capacitance. According to anotherembodiment, mitigating parasitic capacitance can also involve offsettingthe phase shift associated with parasitic capacitance, so that theparasitic capacitance's contribution to phase noise can be reduced oreliminated.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary wide dynamic range self-capacitive touchsense circuit with voltage based offset according to one disclosedembodiment. The voltage based offset circuit 700 can be used to offsetphase offset caused by parasitic capacitance. Voltage based offsetcircuit 700 can contain two multiplying digital to analog converters(DAC) 702 and 710. The two multiplying DACs produce signals that, whenadded to the sensed signal, can reduce or eliminate the phase offset dueto parasitic capacitance. The first multiplying DAC 702 receives signal704 which is a digital value representative of a value between 1 and −1which can be expressed as sin(Ω), and a sinusoidal signal 706 equivalentto cos(ωt), which represents a sinusoid with the same frequency as theoutput of touch sense circuit 316. With those inputs, multiplying DAC702 can produce an output signal 708 (Vc), which represents the simpleproduct of its two inputs expressed below in equation form.V _(C)=Cos(ωt)Sin(Ω)

The second multiplying DAC 710 receives signal 712 which is a digitalvalue representative of a value between 1 and −1 which can be expressedas cos(Ω), and a sinusoidal signal 714 equivalent to sin(ωt). With thoseinputs, multiplying DAC 510 can produce an output signal 516 (Vs), whichrepresents the simple product of its two inputs.V _(S)=Sin(ωt)Cos(Ω)

The value of Ω can be determined during a calibration procedure whichwill be described below.

When no touch is present on the touch panel the change in Cself=0.Ideally when no touch is present, the output of touch sense circuit 314,denoted as Vout 316, should equal to 0. However due to parasiticcapacitance, even when a touch signal is not present, Vout 316 can havea value equal to:Vout=Sin(ωt+φ)

Thus in order to calibrate out effects due to parasitic capacitance,when no touch event is occurring it is desired to have the output of thesumming circuit at junction 520=0, since this would be the output if thechange in Cself was 0 and no parasitic capacitance was present. When notouch signal is present, the equation which characterizes the output atjunction 720 is equal to:Vout−Vc−Vs=Sin(ωt+φ)−Cos(ωt)Sin(Ω)−Sin(ωt)Cos(Ω)

Since the goal of calibration is to make the output at junction 720equal to 0 when no touch signal is present, the equation above becomesVout−Vs−Vc=0Vout−Vc−Vs=Sin(ωt+φ)−Cos(ωt)Sin(Ω)−Sin(ωt)Cos(Ω)=0

Using standard trigonometric identities Vc+Vs can be simplified as:V _(S) +V _(C)=Cos(ωt)Sin(Ω)+Sin(ωt)Cos(Ω)V _(S) +V _(C)=Sin(ωt+(Ω))

Using the above simplification, the equation for Vout−Vc−Vs becomesSin(ωt+φ)−Sin(ωt+Ω)=0Sin(ωt+Ω)=Sin(ωt+φ)

Thus: Ω=φ

In order to get the output of junction 720 to equal 0 when no touch ispresent, the multiplying DAC's 704 and 712 can be programmed with avalue of Ω such that Ω=φ.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary procedure tocalibrate multiplying digital to analog converters according to onedisclosed embodiment. At step S1, an initial value of Ω can be set andprovided to multiplying DAC's 702 and 710. At step S2, the output ofjunction 520 can be checked to determine if its value is 0. If it is 0,then the calibration procedure can be terminated. If it is not 0, thenthe process moves to S3 and Ω can be adjusted to a new value. At stepS4, the output value of junction 520 can be checked to determine if itsvalue is 0. If it is, then the process moves to step S5 where is theprocess can be terminated. If it is not 0, then the process goes back toS3 and repeats. Eventually, a value of Ω can be found such that theoutput of junction 520 is 0. When this is achieved, the effect thatparasitic capacitance has on phase can effectively be calibrated out.One skilled in the art will recognize that the procedure detailed inFIG. 8 is just one method of determining the phase offset. In otherembodiments the offset can also be computed by measuring the phaseoffset on the output of an in-phase and quadrature phase demodulationarchitecture.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary wide dynamic range self-capacitive touchsense circuit with current based offset according to one disclosedembodiment. A current based offset can act in the same manner as thevoltage based offset method described above, the only difference beingthat resistors 708, 716 and 718 of FIG. 7 are no longer needed toconvert the current to voltage, and the voltages do not need to besummed as demonstrated in FIG. 7 at junction 720. As shown in FIG. 9,multiplying DACs 902 and 910 are driven by sinusoidal signals 906 and914 respectively, and have a digital gain value 904 and 912 as an input.The current produced by each multiplying DAC is combined with thecurrent produced by the sense circuit, and the gains of the multiplyingDAC's are adjusted until the combined current is equal to 0 in a mannerdescribed above in relation to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8.

While self-capacitance touch sensor panels that mitigate parasiticcapacitance, as described above, can detect proximity events at agreater distance than using a mutual capacitive touch sensor panel, theycan often have less resolution than a mutual capacitance touch sensorpanel and can, in projection scan configurations, produce ambiguousresults. Touch or proximity resolution can mean the degree of accuracyto which the object's location on the touch sensor panel can bedetermined. FIG. 10a illustrates an exemplary mutual capacitance touchsensor panel with a touch event occurring, and an exemplarycorresponding touch resolution. As shown, mutual capacitive touch sensorpanel 1002 can receive either a touch event or a near proximity event1004. When touch event 1004 is occurring, the matrix 1006 composed ofintersecting drive electrodes 102 and sense electrodes 104 can registera touch event at touch node 1008.

FIG. 10b illustrates an exemplary self-capacitance touch sensor panelwith a proximity event occurring, and an exemplary correspondingproximity resolution. As shown, self-capacitance touch sensor panel 1010can detect proximity events from objects 1012 that are a distance 1014away from the touch sensor panel. When a proximity event is occurring,the touch matrix 1016 composed of electrodes 202 can register aproximity event occurring over a region 1018. Region 1018 covers alarger area than touch node 1008 and thus the panel 1010 can only sensethat a proximity event is occurring within a certain region of thepanel, as compared to the mutual capacitance 1002 which can detect touchevents to the specific node 1008 where the event is occurring.

However, because only coarse resolution may be required when detectingfar-field proximity events, while fine resolution may be required whendetecting touch or near-field proximity events, both types of touchsensing can be advantageous at different times (e.g., as an objectapproaches and eventually touches a touch-sensitive surface) or indifferent applications (e.g., detecting touch gestures vs. detecting anapproaching user to turn on a device). Thus, a device which can detecttouch or near proximity events with fine resolution, and detectproximity events further away with coarser resolution, can bebeneficial.

According to some embodiments, a device that contains both a mutualcapacitance and a self-capacitance touch sensor panel working inparallel can achieve the goal of having a touch sensor panel which cando both mutual capacitance touch sensing and self-capacitance touchsensing simultaneously in one device. According to other embodiments, atouch sensor panel that is able to switch its configuration to a mutualcapacitance configuration to detect touch or near field proximityevents, and switch its configuration to a self-capacitance configurationto detect far field proximity events can also achieve the goal of havinga touch sensor panel which can do both mutual capacitance touch sensingand self-capacitance touch sensing in one device.

FIG. 11a-11b illustrates an exemplary switching diagram for switchingbetween a mutual capacitance touch sensor configuration and aself-capacitance touch sensor configuration. Switching can be achievedby changing the configuration of the drive lines of a mutual capacitancetouch sensor panel to a self-capacitance touch electrode configuration,and vice versa. FIG. 11a illustrates an exemplary switching diagram forswitching between a mutual capacitance touch sensor drive lineconfiguration and a self-capacitance touch sensor electrodeconfiguration according to one disclosed embodiment. Touch controller1112 can send a signal to switches 1108 and 1110 to either engage a nearfield mutual capacitance system (which includes touch) or to engage afar field self-capacitance system. Switches 1108 and 1110 form aninput/output (I/O) line that can be connected to touch electrode 1120 onthe touch sensor panel. If a near field configuration is desired, thentouch controller 1112 will close switch 1108 and open switch 1110. Withswitch 1108 closed, touch electrode 1120 can be either connected toelectrode driver 1102, or a reference voltage 1104 (e.g., ground)depending on the position of switch 1106. It should be understood thatdriver 1102, switch 1106 and reference voltage 1104 are merely symbolic,and that other configurations that achieve the same result arecontemplated. When the row corresponding to drive electrode 1120 isbeing stimulated, then switch 1106 will connect to electrode driver1102. When the row is not being stimulated then switch 1106 will beswitched to reference voltage 1104. Note that in some embodiments, allof the circuitry in FIG. 11A can reside in the touch controller 1112.

If a far field configuration is desired, then touch controller 1112 canopen switch 1108 and close switch 1110. When switch 1110 is closed,electrode 1120 is connected to operational amplifier 308. Operationalamplifier can be configured as a noninverting amplifier in theself-capacitance sensing configuration illustrated in FIG. 3a withfeedback resistor 312 and feedback capacitor 310 connected between itsoutput and its inverting input, and Vshield 306 outputted by touchcontroller 1112 to its non-inverting input. Drive electrode 1102 andground 1104 are no longer connected to electrode 1120.

In some embodiments, the exemplary circuitry of FIG. 11A can bereplicated for every touch electrode 1120. In other embodiments, thedrivers 1102 and/or amplifiers 308 can be multiplexed so that fewerdrivers and/or amplifiers can be utilized as compared to the number ofelectrodes. In some embodiments, feedback resistor 312 and feedbackcapacitor 310 can be switched to include other capacitors and resistors,depending on the value required for super far field and far fieldsensing. Thus, while one set of resistor and capacitor values can beused for super far field sensing, when electrode 1120 is switched to farfield sensing, feedback resistor 312 can be reconfigured to a differentresistance, and feedback capacitor 310 can be reconfigured to adifferent capacitance.

FIG. 11b illustrates an exemplary switching diagram for switchingbetween a mutual capacitance touch sensor sense line configuration and aself-capacitance touch sensor electrode configuration according to onedisclosed embodiment. Operational amplifier 308 can be configuredsimilar to FIG. 3a and is described above. When touch sense electrode1130 is configured for near field sensing, touch controller 1112 canoutput a DC signal to the non-inverting input of operational amplifier308. When touch sense electrode 1130 is configured for far fieldsensing, touch controller 1112 can output a signal Vshield to thenon-inverting input of operational amplifier 308. Furthermore, feedbackresistor 312 and feedback capacitor 310 can be switched to differentvalues, depending on the requirements of configuration. It should benoted that the circuits of FIGS. 11a and 11b are merely exemplary, andthat other components and configurations that perform a similar functioncan also be used.

As illustrated in FIGS. 4a and 4b , as an object 402 such as a hand orstylus moves further away from the self capacitance touch sensor panel404, the value of Cself becomes smaller and is inversely proportional tothe distance 410 that the object is away from touch sensor panel. Thegain provided to Cself in each detection mode can be set to optimize theability to detect the expected signal. For example, the super far fieldgain can be set to the highest possible value in order to detect themost distant objects. However despite optimizing the gain, eventually,when the object 402 is far enough away from touch sensor panel 404, thevalue of Cself can become so small that a proximity event can no longerbe distinguished from random variations in self capacitance due tovarious noise sources in the touch sensor panel. In other words, therise in Cself caused by a proximity event cannot be distinguished from arise in Cself caused by random system noise. However, if a proximityevent is occurring in the super far field (a distance in which aproximity event signal on a single electrode cannot be distinguishedfrom noise) then if the value of Cself on a plurality or all of theelectrodes on touch sensor panel 404 is averaged, then a rise in theaverage Cself of the entire panel can indicate that a super far fieldproximity event is occurring.

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram illustrating the procedureto determine if a super far field proximity event is occurring on thetouch sensor panel, according to one disclosed embodiment. With thetouch sensor panel is in a self-capacitance configuration, at step S1200each or at least a plurality of electrodes in the touch sensor panel arescanned (measured) and Cself for each scanned electrode is determined.At step S1202 each measured value of Cself is used to determine anaverage Cself. The average Cself represents the average self capacitancethat each electrode is experiencing during the scan at S1200. At stepS1204 the average Cself calculated in step S1202 is compared against apre-determined threshold value. If the average Cself is above thethreshold, then the flow moves to step 1208 in which the touchcontroller processor 810 indicates that a proximity event is occurring.If the average Cself is below a pre-determined threshold, then the flowmoves to step S1206 and touch controller 810 indicates no proximityevent is occurring. Although averaging of Cself is described above, inother embodiments super far field proximity events can be detected bycombining multiple Cself values in other ways.

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary self-capacitance touch sensor panel insuper far field detection mode with a super far field proximity eventoccurring, and an exemplary corresponding touch resolution according toone disclosed embodiment. When touch sensor panel 1302 is in a super farfield sensing mode, an object 1304 a distance 1306 away from the touchsensor panel can register a proximity event. Touch sensor electrodematrix 1308 composed of electrodes 202 can register a proximity eventoccurring over a region 1310. Since the average Cself of the multipleelectrodes in the panel can be used to determine if a proximity event isoccurring, the touch resolution of the panel can be poor. As shown,region 1310 covers the entire panel and thus, while the touch sensorpanel 1302 is registering a proximity event, the precise location isunknown. The touch sensor panel only registers that a proximity event isoccurring, but does not know where the event is occurring. In otherembodiments, region 1310 may not cover the entire panel, but asignificant portion of the panel.

As described above, the touch sensor panel can have three modes ofoperation available to operate in. The first mode, near field mutualcapacitive touch sensing, can be utilized to detect touch or nearproximity events with a high degree of spatial resolution. The secondmode, far field self-capacitive touch sensing, can be utilized to detectproximity events that are farther away from the touch sensor panel witha lower spatial resolution. Finally the third mode, super far fieldcapacitive touch sensing, can be utilized to detect proximity eventsthat are even farther away from the touch panel than far field detectionbut with little to no spatial resolution.

A device that includes a touch sensor panel capable of detecting signalsin two or three of the modes described above, can determine which modeto operate in at any given time by a plurality of methods. FIG. 14illustrates a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary procedure forswitching touch sensing modes during operation of the touch sensor panelaccording to one disclosed embodiment. At step S1400 the touch sensorpanel can be switched to a near field configuration as described above.If the touch sensor panel is already in the near field configuration,then no switching is necessary. At step S1402, the touch sensor panelcan be scanned to determine if a signal is present. If a signal isfound, then the flow moves to step S1404 and the touch sensor panel willoperate in a near field configuration. If no signal is detected, thenthe flow moves to step S1406 and the touch sensor panel switches itsconfiguration to a self-capacitance far field configuration. At stepS1408 the touch sensor panel can be scanned to determine if a signal ispresent. If a signal is detected, then the flow moves to step S1410 andthe touch sensor panel will operate in a far field configuration. If nosignal is detected, then the flow moves to step S1412 and the super farfield detection method discussed above is used to detect super far fieldproximity events. At step 1414 the touch sensor panel can be scanned todetermine if a signal is present. If a signal is detected, then the flowmoves to step S1416 and the touch sensor panel will operate in a superfar field mode. If no signal is present, then the flow moves back tostep S1400 and the process is repeated.

The signal detection steps depicted at S1402 and S1408 can beaccomplished using a plurality of methods. FIG. 15 illustrates anexemplary flow diagram for detecting the presence of a touch orproximity signal according to one disclosed embodiment. At step 1500 thegain of amplifier 308 can be set to an initial value. In someembodiments, the gain of amplifier 308 can be set to an initial value byadjusting the value of feedback resistor 312, either by switching outthe resistor with a resistor of another value, or employing anadjustable resistor. In other embodiments, the gain of amplifier 308 canbe set to an initial value by adjusting the value of feedback capacitor310, either by switching out the capacitor with a capacitor of anothervalue, or employing an adjustable capacitor. Once the initial gain ofamplifier 308 is set, the flow moves to step S1502, where the presenceof a touch or proximity signal can be detected. If a signal is detectedthen the flow will move to step S1504 and the process will indicate thata signal has been detected. If no signal is detected, then the flow willmove to step 1506 where the gain will be adjusted using the methodsdescribed above. At step 1508 if a signal is detected then the flow willmove to step S1510 and the process will indicate that a signal has beendetected. If no signal is detected, then the flow moves to step S1512.At step s1512, if the gain of the amplifier is at its maximum possiblevalue, then the flow moves to S1514 and the process indicates that nosignal has been detected. If the gain is not at its maximum possiblevalue, then the flow moves back to step S1506 and the gain is adjustedand the process repeats. It should be understood that the above methodis only meant to serve as an example, and the presence of a touch orproximity signal can be determined using other methods.

FIG. 16 illustrates yet another exemplary flow diagram illustrating theprocedure for switching touch modes during operation of the touch sensorpanel according to one disclosed embodiment. As step S1600 the touchsensor panel is switched into a super far field configuration. The flowthen moves to step 1602 where the touch sensor panel determines whethera signal has been detected. If no signal has been detected then the flowmoves back to step S1600 and the process is repeated. If a signal isdetected then the flow moves to step S1604 where the touch sensor panelis configured to operate in a far field sensing mode. At step S1606 thetouch sensor panel determines whether a signal has been detected. If nosignal has been detected, then the flow moves to step S1608 and thetouch sensor panel is switched back to the super far field mode and theprocess is terminated at step S1610. If a signal is detected then theflow moves to step S1612 and the device is switched to a near fieldconfiguration. The flow then moves to step S1614 and the processsearches for a signal. If no signal is detected, then the flow moves tostep S1618 and the touch sensor panel is switched to a far fieldconfiguration and the process is then ended at step 1620. If a signal isdetected then the process is stopped at S1616.

FIG. 17 illustrates exemplary computing system 1700 that can include oneor more of the embodiments described above. Computing system 1700 caninclude one or more panel processors 1702 and peripherals 1704, andpanel subsystem 1706. Peripherals 1704 can include, but are not limitedto, random access memory (RAM) or other types of memory or storage,watchdog timers and the like. Panel subsystem 1706 can include, but isnot limited to, one or more sense channels 1708 which can utilizeoperational amplifiers that can be configured to minimize saturationtime, channel scan logic 1710 and driver logic 1714. Channel scan logic1710 can access RAM 1712, autonomously read data from the sense channelsand provide control for the sense channels including calibrating thesense channels for changes in phase correlated with a parasiticcapacitance. In addition, channel scan logic 1710 can control driverlogic 1714 to generate stimulation signals 1716 at various frequenciesand phases that can be selectively applied to drive lines of touchsensor panel 1724. In some embodiments, panel subsystem 1706, panelprocessor 1702 and peripherals 1704 can be integrated into a singleapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

Touch sensor panel 1724 can include a capacitive sensing medium having aplurality of drive lines and a plurality of sense lines, although othersensing media can also be used. Each intersection of drive and senselines can represent a capacitive sensing node and can be viewed aspicture element (node) 1726, which can be particularly useful when touchsensor panel 1724 is viewed as capturing an “image” of touch. Each senseline of touch sensor panel 1724 can drive sense channel 1708 (alsoreferred to herein as an event detection and demodulation circuit) inpanel subsystem 1706. The drive and sense lines can also be configuredto act as individual electrodes in a self-capacitance touch sensingconfiguration.

Computing system 1700 can also include host processor 1728 for receivingoutputs from panel processor 1702 and performing actions based on theoutputs that can include, but are not limited to, moving an object suchas a cursor or pointer, scrolling or panning, adjusting controlsettings, opening a file or document, viewing a menu, making aselection, executing instructions, operating a peripheral device coupledto the host device, answering a telephone call, placing a telephonecall, terminating a telephone call, changing the volume or audiosettings, storing information related to telephone communications suchas addresses, frequently dialed numbers, received calls, missed calls,logging onto a computer or a computer network, permitting authorizedindividuals access to restricted areas of the computer or computernetwork, loading a user profile associated with a user's preferredarrangement of the computer desktop, permitting access to web content,launching a particular program, encrypting or decoding a message, and/orthe like. Host processor 1728 can also perform additional functions thatmay not be related to panel processing, and can be coupled to programstorage 1732 and display device 404 such as an LCD display for providinga UI to a user of the device. Display device 404 together with touchsensor panel 1724, when located partially or entirely under the touchsensor panel, can form touch screen 1718.

Note that one or more of the functions described above can be performedby firmware stored in memory (e.g. one of the peripherals 1704 in FIG.17) and executed by panel processor 1702, or stored in program storage1732 and executed by host processor 1728. The firmware can also bestored and/or transported within any non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium for use by or in connection with an instruction executionsystem, apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based system,processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch theinstructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or deviceand execute the instructions. In the context of this document, a“non-transitory computer-readable storage medium” can be any medium thatcan contain or store the program for use by or in connection with theinstruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The computerreadable storage medium can include, but is not limited to, anelectronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, orsemiconductor system, apparatus or device, a portable computer diskette(magnetic), a random access memory (RAM) (magnetic), a read-only memory(ROM) (magnetic), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM)(magnetic), a portable optical disc such a CD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD, DVD-R,or DVD-RW, or flash memory such as compact flash cards, secured digitalcards, USB memory devices, memory sticks, and the like.

The firmware can also be propagated within any transport medium for useby or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, ordevice, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system, orother system that can fetch the instructions from the instructionexecution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions. Inthe context of this document, a “transport medium” can be any mediumthat can communicate, propagate or transport the program for use by orin connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, ordevice. The transport readable medium can include, but is not limitedto, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic or infrared wiredor wireless propagation medium.

FIG. 18a illustrates exemplary mobile telephone 1836 that can includetouch sensor panel 1824 and display device 1830, the touch sensor panelincluding circuitry to change the configuration of the touch sensorpanel from a near field detection scheme to a far field and super farfield detection scheme and mitigate the effects of parasitic capacitanceaccording to one disclosed embodiment.

FIG. 18b illustrates exemplary digital media player 1840 that caninclude touch sensor panel 1824 and display device 1830, the touchsensor panel including circuitry to change the configuration of thetouch sensor panel from a near field detection scheme to a far field andsuper far field detection scheme and mitigate the effects of parasiticcapacitance according to one disclosed embodiment.

FIG. 18c illustrates exemplary personal computer 1844 that can includetouch sensor panel (trackpad) 1824 and display 1830, the touch sensorpanel and/or display of the personal computer (in embodiments where thedisplay is part of a touch screen) including circuitry to change theconfiguration of the touch sensor panel from a near field detectionscheme to a far field and super far field detection scheme and mitigatethe effects of parasitic capacitance according to one disclosedembodiment. The mobile telephone, media player and personal computer ofFIGS. 12a, 12b and 12c can achieve a wider dynamic range of sensingcapabilities by switching its configuration to detect near field and farfield events, and mitigating parasitic capacitance.

Although FIGS. 18a-c discuss a mobile telephone, a media player and apersonal computer respectively, the disclosure is not so restricted andthe touch sensor panel can be included on a tablet computer, atelevision, or any other device which utilizes the touch sensor panelincluding circuitry to switch between near field far field sensingconfigurations and mitigate the effects of parasitic capacitance on thetouch sensor panel.

Although the disclosed embodiments have been fully described withreference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that variouschanges and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in theart. Such changes and modifications are to be understood as beingincluded within the scope of the disclosed embodiments as defined by theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for determining an object sensing modeof a touch sensor panel, comprising: at an electronic device with one ormore processors and memory, operating the touch sensor panel in a firstobject sensing mode having a first resolution and a first gain, if nofirst touch or proximity event is detected in the first object sensingmode, switching the touch sensor panel to operate in a second objectsensing mode having a second resolution and a second gain greater thanthe first gain, and if no second touch or proximity event is detected inthe second object sensing mode and the second gain is not a maximumgain, switching the touch sensor panel to operate in the second objectsensing mode having a third gain greater than the second gain.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: if no second touch or proximityevent is detected in the second object sensing mode, switching the touchsensor panel to operate in a third object sensing mode having a thirdresolution.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: if no thirdtouch or proximity event is detected in the third object sensing mode,switching the touch sensor panel to operate in the first object sensingmode.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second resolutionsare different levels of x-y location resolution.
 5. The method of claim1, wherein the first and second resolutions are different levels of zproximity resolution.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first,second and third object sensing modes are selected from the groupconsisting of a super-far field mode, a far field mode, and a near fieldmode.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein switching the touch sensor panelto operate between the first and second object sensing modes comprisesswitching between a mutual capacitance touch detection architecture anda self-capacitance touch detection architecture.
 8. An apparatus fordetermining an object sensing mode of a touch sensor panel, comprising:switching circuitry configured to switch the touch sensor panel betweena plurality of object sensing modes; and a processor communicativelycoupled to the switching circuitry and capable of configuring theswitching circuitry to operate the touch sensor panel in a first objectsensing mode having a first resolution and a first gain, if no firsttouch or proximity event is detected in the first object sensing mode,configuring the switching circuit to operate the touch sensor panel in asecond object sensing mode having a second resolution and a second gaingreater than the first gain, and if no second touch or proximity eventis detected in the second object sensing mode and the second gain is nota maximum gain, configuring the switching circuitry to operate the touchsensor panel in the second object sensing mode having a third gaingreater than the second gain.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein theprocessor is further capable of configuring the switching circuitry tooperate the touch sensor panel in a third object sensing mode having athird resolution, if no second touch or proximity event is detected inthe second object sensing mode.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, whereinthe processor is further capable of switching the touch sensor panel tooperate in the first object sensing mode, if no third touch or proximityevent is detected in the third object sensing mode.
 11. The apparatus ofclaim 8, wherein the first and second resolutions are different levelsof x-y location resolution.
 12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein thefirst and second resolutions are different levels of z proximityresolution.
 13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the first, second andthird object sensing modes are selected from the group consisting of asuper-far field mode, a far field mode, and a near field mode.
 14. Theapparatus of claim 8, wherein switching the touch sensor panel tooperate between the first and second object sensing modes comprisesswitching between a mutual capacitance touch detection architecture anda self-capacitance touch detection architecture.
 15. A non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium having stored thereon a set ofinstructions for determining an object sensing mode of a touch sensorpanel that when executed by a processor causes the processor to: operatethe touch sensor panel in a first object sensing mode having a firstresolution and a first gain; if no first touch or proximity event isdetected in the first object sensing mode, switch the touch sensor panelto operate in a second object sensing mode having a second resolutionand a second gain greater than the first gain; and if no second touch orproximity event is detected in the second object sensing mode and thesecond gain is not a maximum gain, switch the touch sensor panel tooperate in the second object sensing mode having a third gain greaterthan the second gain.
 16. The non-transitory computer readable storagemedium of claim 15, wherein the processor is further caused to switchthe touch sensor panel to operate in a third object sensing mode havinga third resolution, if no second touch or proximity event is detected inthe second object sensing mode.
 17. The non-transitory computer readablestorage medium of claim 16, wherein the processor is further caused toswitch the touch sensor panel back to operate in the first objectsensing mode, if no third touch or proximity event is detected in thethird object sensing mode.
 18. The non-transitory computer readablestorage medium of claim 15, wherein the first and second resolutions aredifferent levels of x-y location resolution.
 19. The non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the first andsecond resolutions are different levels of z proximity resolution. 20.The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15, whereinthe first, second and third object sensing modes are selected from thegroup consisting of a super-far field mode, a far field mode and a nearfield mode.
 21. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium ofclaim 15, wherein switching the touch sensor panel to operate betweenthe first and second object sensing modes comprises switching between amutual capacitance touch detection architecture and a self-capacitancearchitecture.